Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green is hopeful that the franchise and Jonathan Kuminga can find common ground in their contract standoff before training camp tips off Sept. 29.
“Negotiations are rarely easy, but they usually get done in the end,” Green wrote Monday in a Threads post, signaling optimism despite weeks of stalled talks.
Supportive Mentor
Green has long been one of Kuminga’s biggest backers inside the locker room. But he has avoided trying to influence Kuminga’s contract decisions.
“Obviously, JK has got the contract situation,” Green said after Golden State’s season-ending loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves in May. “Always wishing him the best with that. I’ve been in that situation. Whether it’s here or elsewhere, I just wish him the best.”
That series — though a defeat for the Warriors — became Kuminga’s breakout. The 22-year-old averaged 24.3 points while filling in for Stephen Curry over the last four games of the series, performances that emboldened him to push for more leverage in negotiations.
Kuminga has credited Green for helping pave his way into Golden State.
“He is one of the reasons I even ended up here,” Kuminga told ESPN last year. “Before they drafted me, he called [former Warriors general manager] Bob [Myers] and told him to bring me here. I think that was one of the greatest things to have ever happened.”
Stars On Board, Offseason on Hold
Getty Jimmy Butler III, Draymond Green and Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors huddle during a game.
According to ESPN’s Anthony Slater and Shams Charania, Green and Jimmy Butler have reached out to Kuminga in recent weeks to check on “his plans and his mindset.”
But despite their personal outreach, the Warriors duo, along with franchise star Curry, is aligned with the front office’s broader approach. “They know the strategy, sources said, and have approved that anticipated result,” Slater and Charania reported.
The Warriors’ roster decisions are now tied to the Kuminga situation. Golden State has only nine players on standard contracts and has lined up potential deals for several veterans, including center Al Horford, guard De’Anthony Melton, defensive specialist Gary Payton II, and potentially Seth Curry, who could reunite with his brother Stephen in the Bay Area. None of those additions is expected to move forward until the Kuminga matter is resolved.
The Contract Divide
Golden State recently increased its offer to Kuminga from a two-year, $45 million deal to three years at $75.2 million, with $48.3 million guaranteed across the first two seasons, according to Slater and Charania. But the final year would remain a team option, a structure Kuminga’s camp has resisted.
Kuminga has pushed for a player option — a non-starter for the team — or a one-year balloon deal that would let him reach unrestricted free agency next summer.
As it stands, the forward is leaning toward signing his $7.9 million qualifying offer, multiple outlets reported. Doing so would give him full control of his future while limiting Golden State’s ability to trade him for significant value.
Kuminga, who believes he has “multi-time All-Star potential,” views next summer’s free-agent market — when more than 10 teams are projected to have cap space — as a chance to gain both career freedom and financial rewards.
Green Breaks Silence on Warriors-Kuminga Contract Drama